


Eyes full of stars

by gobuyastarwars



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Are all my fics alternate universe, Din Djarin - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Honestly I was thinking of making something happen, Human Grogu | Baby Yoda, I'm sorry I still don't know how to tag and label fics properly, Mandalorian Boba Fett, Mandomera if you squint at the words, Or I guess it's fluff?, Valentine's Day, but i was like what if I just wrote a fic where everyone was idle, fennec shand - Freeform, sorry in advance, this is the result i guess, wait there was a human grogu tag this whole time?!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gobuyastarwars/pseuds/gobuyastarwars
Summary: Din agrees to volunteering at Grogu's classroom Valentine's Day party because he fundamentally cannot say no when someone asks him to volunteer for something. Din in turn ropes in Boba Fett and Fennec Shand to help.
Relationships: Boba Fett & Fennec Shand, Din Djarin & Omera
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Eyes full of stars

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! I'm a new fic writer, so any feedback is welcome. The title is a lyric from "cowboy like me" by Taylor Swift, which doesn't really have anything to do with this except the Mandalorian is basically a cowboy.

A busy, high-stakes drama was unfolding around Din Djarin in the Valentine's Day aisle of this big box store.

A shopping cart slammed into Din's legs. Din looked down to find several children standing in the cart like sailors looking out from the crow's nest of a ship. A harried mother on a phone call about some sort of Valentine’s Day-related event yapped near Din's ear. A traffic jam of carts clogged the aisle, and a crowd was assembled in front of the shelf displaying children's Valentine’s Day card sets. You know, those classroom Valentine’s Day cards, often with favorite TV show characters and a sticker sheet for sealing the cards.

Din really wanted to leave the crowded aisle and check out of the store, but Grogu was still trying to decide which box of cards he wanted to get for his classmates.

To his credit, Grogu looked like he had his mind set at first. The kid had spotted the cards for his favorite TV show– something about talking dogs and cats, though there was probably at least one show like that for every generation of kids. But then he spotted cards for another TV show he liked, which unfortunately pertained to frogs (that unfortunately only made the kid hungry for some reason.) Now the kid was stuck in indecision. Grogu's head swiveled back and forth between the two boxes. A feud brewed between two sisters to Din’s right over the last box of Disney Princess cards.

Din was convinced that Valentine’s Day really existed for elementary school children, their card exchanges, and their classroom parties. All the children there seemed to be so excited by the boxes of cards and, if the shopping cart traffic jam was any indicator, there was simply too much to do for Valentine’s Day. Especially when every kid had to give cards to all their classmates.

Up and down the aisle, children shrieked for candy. Din could hear echoes of parents, with the last shred of their patience, saying ‘This is enough' as children tried to sneak more candy into carts. To Din's far left, a tiny child was attempting to haul away one of those massive, as-big-as-a-person teddy bears with no accompanying parent or older sibling in sight. Somewhere, yet another child could be heard slipping into an ear-piercing tantrum. And that still didn't count all the last-minute shopping in the aisle next to this one, where people frantically bought stuffed bears and heart-shaped chocolate boxes for their loved ones.

Din resolved to avoid last-minute holiday shopping in the future.

Din tried waiting patiently for Grogu, but the level of loud, crowded activity made Din ask, "Ah, which one do you want to get?"

Grogu looked up at Din, and Din tilted his head as if to silently reiterate his question to Grogu.

Grogu turned back and reached for the cards with frogs on them. Din took that as permission to get out of the crowded aisle and check out. Grogu was so excited on the way home. In his carseat, the kid clung to his chosen box of Valentines.

It was late, but not that late, when Grogu’s teacher Ms. Omera called Din and asked if he was available (“really it isn't urgent, but just in case”) to volunteer at tomorrow’s classroom Valentine’s Day party because two mothers within the space of an hour called to say they couldn't come, which left her with no volunteers ("not to their knowledge, of course it's okay.”)

Din, who was truly incapable of saying no to someone asking for help, said yes.

The next day, Din enlisted the help of Boba, Grogu's uncle, as a secondary volunteer. Wherever Boba went, Fennec Shand went. This meant Fennec Shand drove her loud motorcycle decorated with obnoxious purple flames to Grogu's school. Together, they signed in at the front office and collected visitor's badges.

Din pulled Boba back as Fennec continued to walk ahead. “Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Fennec?” Din muttered to Boba.

Boba snorted while Fennec calmly said ahead of them, “I heard that, Djarin.” That might have been a warning. Nearly everything Fennec said could be construed as a warning some way or the other.

“We’re going to be on our best behavior,” Fett declared with a nod toward Shand. Din did not feel assured. He retroactively understood how terrible it was to enlist this second and unneeded third volunteer here.

The kids were currently away in music class, their second-to-last class of the day. The empty classroom looked like paused chaos: books and crayons strewn across each knee-high table, tiny chairs not pushed in properly. Paper hearts with sequin borders were stapled to the bulletin board. Din spotted the infamous paper bag mailboxes for Valentine’s Day lined up atop the classroom library’s shelves. The school was a world in miniature. Din wondered if teachers always felt enormous relative to their students.

The class pet, named Wilkins for some forgotten reason, was a chameleon who lived in a terrarium set on the wide classroom windowsill. Din had only seen the chameleon at Open House and parent-teacher conference, though Grogu could be found affectionately drawing the chameleon all the time at home. Today the chameleon was the color of the grass waving in the wind outside. The grass was dotted with serene purple flowers. It would have looked idyllic, but the afternoon sky was darkening with the promise of rain.

Ms. Omera was opening a box at her desk. She looked up and smiled when she heard them come in.

“Mr. Djarin, thank you so much for coming in.”

“You can just call me Din.” He hesitated and added, “You said you originally had two volunteers. This is Grogu’s uncle, Boba. Uh, and this is Fennec."

The trio were quite at odds with the classroom. Kindly Ms. Omera smiled and shook Boba’s and Fennec’s hands. 

There was an awkward pause. Fennec looked at Boba, who looked at Din, who looked at Omera, who looked back at Din.

Omera cleared her throat and took charge, all gentle smiles and sweeping gestures. “The students brought in food for the class party. We can set up the food and decorations.”

Boba was tasked with hanging up streamers and blowing balloons that were in the box of decorations. Fennec put out a tablecloth on the back table that was usually used for reading group and started setting up the hoard of food the children brought to school.

“Would you help me hang these up?” Omera asked and held up a tangle of fairy lights from the decorations box. “We can hang them like a garland on the wall.” She pointed to preexisting nails already in the wall from previous classroom parties.

Omera and Din silently disentangled the heap of fairy lights. Din looped the fairy lights through the nails around the classroom and Omera followed with the heap of wires. They went around the room and finished the task when they reached the classroom door. Din plugged in the fairy light strand.

Omera flicked the ceiling lights off. The fairy lights glowed warmly in the dark, an enchantment over the small whirlwind of a classroom. Din watched Omera as she watched him. Her glossy hair and eyes reflected the multitude of lights. Din’s lungs stilled as his heart sped up. The amber glow of the lights streaked and blurred until light encased the world around them.

The sound of a chair crashing to the floor ruined the moment. Din looked over to Boba who was setting the chair upright while muttering, “The chairs are so small, I can’t see them." Omera took that as a cue and went across the classroom to bring out craft supplies.

Din swallowed. He busied himself by helping Boba put up a few more red and pink balloons.

When they were done setting up the classroom, Omera put on music so that the children could step into an atmosphere of full enchantment. It started to pour outside, and the sound of the rain falling in sheets accompanied the soft, twinkling sound of piano music. The joyful music popped and fizzed out from the computer speakers on Omera's desk.

“This weather’s a joykill,” Fennec noted unhelpfully.

Din looked over and realized Fennec was blowing up a balloon. It was one of those balloons that clowns used to make balloon art. Fennec twisted the balloon into the shape of a dog.

“Where did you learn that?” Din asked.

“The correct question is ‘What don’t you know?’ And the answer to that is 'nothing,'” Fennec said. She rolled her eyes at Din.

Boba whistled when they heard the sound of children laughing, giggling, and running down the hallway when they shouldn’t be. “Here they come,” Boba said, as if observing the entrance of a stampede.

The children flooded into the classroom and ooohhhh-ed and ahhhhhh-ed at the fairy lights, balloons, and streamers. They giggled and jumped as Omera encouraged them to take food.

Luckily, the assembled volunteers had unexpectedly useful skills for this classroom party.

Fennec, it appeared, could make balloon animals. Boba would hand out and replenish food so that the children could bring plates to their tables. Omera had brought a free-standing skillet to make fresh crepes in, for which the kids could choose to add chocolate spread, strawberries, and more. Din was assigned to make the crepes.

When Grogu came in, he beamed at the sight of Din, Boba, and Fennec. He toddled over to Din, who picked him up.

“Little one’s happy to see you,” Boba observed beside Din. Grogu waved at Boba. From this vantage point, Grogu could see that the table was laden with sweets. He eyed the cookies and macaroons on the table in front of Boba.

“He wants some of the cookies in front of you,” Din observed.

Favoritism won over. Boba heaped a plate-full of sweets for Grogu first as the other children lined up and filled their plates in an orderly fashion.

Omera floated around and interacted with the children. The children giggled and chatted while making crafts with unseemly amounts of glitter. They spilled out their Valentine’s Day paper bag mailboxes like treasures won in war. Children could eat a lot, Din knew, and enjoyed watching everyone pile chocolate into the crepes he made. Omera’s daughter, Winta, swung by to say hello to her mom’s students before wandering back to her class.

The classroom party was in full swing, joyful even as thunder rumbled overhead and lightning flashed outside. Grogu munched through the heap of sweets on his plate. He laughed quietly as the other children at his table chattered away. With all the activity and delight, it was impossible to pay attention to the poor weather outside or the growing storm.

Impossible, that is, until the power went out. 

The children screamed– not really out of fear, but out of thrill, excitement, and because the surprise demanded some necessary screaming. Din heard Grogu laughing and no doubt clapping his hands at the sudden mayhem.

The screaming devolved into excited outbursts and speculation as Omera tried to instill some calm in the class. Fists of thunder pounded the roof of the school and the shrill screaming returned, this time in earnest.

The backup generator kicked in, and the power surged back on. The fairy lights bloomed back to life and the music kicked on with an accompaniment of previously unnoticeable ambient sounds. The enchantment returned.

Din looked over at Grogu's table and realized Grogu was not where he was before the power went out. Din looked frantically around the classroom before finding Grogu standing to his right. The kid was looking curiously up at him. Din didn’t know how the kid had made it across the classroom through the darkness and screaming, but Din wasn’t surprised. He picked up his son.

Together they looked out at the tables crowded with sweets and balloons and games and Valentines. Everyone's laughter was its own kind of light brightening the classroom. It was easy to believe with his son in his arms: love was a sort of undefeatable, brilliant happiness.


End file.
